


hold you, for a start

by treescape



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Qui-Gon Jinn Lives, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23158624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treescape/pseuds/treescape
Summary: In which Obi-Wan gets to fuss a little.
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 142





	hold you, for a start

When the door opened, Qui-Gon’s face was pale and still drawn with the remnants of pain.

_You shouldn’t be up_ were the first words that came into Obi-Wan’s mind, blunt and almost accusing. They were not at all what he had intended to say as he stood outside Qui-Gon’s quarters, so naturally they were the first words out of his mouth, the first words he had spoken to Qui-Gon in person in almost three months.

He hadn’t thought he was still so unsettled.

“Hello to you, too.” Qui-Gon quirked a smile, more with his eyes than with his mouth, and Obi-Wan fought hard not to blush. He felt the instinctual urge to formally bow, but Qui-Gon had already begun to slowly gesture him inside, so Obi-Wan replaced one forward movement with another and followed him within.

As the door closed, Qui-Gon’s eyes swept over Obi-Wan from head to toe. Obi-Wan knew that his former Master was cataloguing him for visible bruises or other injuries, as if it wasn’t Qui-Gon himself who had recently been on the wrong end of a blaster cannon. “You look well,” Qui-Gon finally said after a moment. “I am glad to see you, Obi-Wan.”

The way he said Obi-Wan’s name, voice curling around the syllables with precision and softness and _pride_ , was as distracting as it always was, but Obi-Wan had other things to deal with right now. He sent Qui-Gon a pointed look that he didn’t even try to soften, and Qui-Gon wryly shook his head.

“I am swiftly recovering. You cannot believe Che would have let me return to my quarters otherwise.”

Obi-Wan knew there was truth in Qui-Gon’s words, but he wasn’t necessarily in the mood to listen to logic right now. Perhaps in a day or two, when he had been able to assure himself personally that Qui-Gon was nearly hale, but not now. “I’m willing to bet you’d be recovering _more _swiftly if you were sitting down.”__

__Qui-Gon gave a patient sigh, but he allowed Obi-Wan to help him settle onto the nearby couch. A discarded datapad lay on the table in front of him, and a nearly empty cup of tea, and beside him was a blanket that Obi-Wan could sense still held vestiges of Qui-Gon’s body heat._ _

__“As you can see,” Qui-Gon said, leaning back, “Anakin left me well-provided for. He also thinks I should not, as you put it, ‘be up’.” His voice held a rueful note to it, but the slight creases of pain around his eyes and mouth had eased a little, so Obi-Wan felt absolutely no remorse._ _

__Obi-Wan had been particularly grateful for Anakin in recent days; Qui-Gon’s newest Padawan had sent several messages. The first, almost two weeks ago, had been short and worried: Qui-Gon had been badly injured in a firefight in the Bandua system, and though now back on Coruscant, was still unconscious. His second message, a few days later, had been much more optimistic: Qui-Gon was awake, Anakin was taking good care of him, and they’d both see Obi-Wan when he returned from Edus._ _

__At least if Obi-Wan had been unable to be present, he had known Anakin was there to keep an eye on Qui-Gon._ _

__“Where _is_ Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked casually as he perched on a chair opposite Qui-Gon, by which he meant, _why are you answering your own door? _His fingers itched a little with the desire to comb through Qui-Gon’s hair, which was pulled loosely back from his face, or to slip beneath the hem of his shirt to graze the skin beneath. He was almost certain the touch would be welcome. They had been dancing around this thing between them for nearly a year and half, since Obi-Wan was raised to the rank of Jedi Knight in the aftermath of Naboo.___ _

____He hadn’t been able to be there in the first days of Qui-Gon’s recovery then, either, with how busy the Council had kept him in meetings and debriefings._ _ _ _

____“Anakin is taking lessons for the afternoon with Master Gallia,” Qui-Gon said simply. “For his sake as well as mine. He needs the distraction, and I…have learned how very _interesting_ it is to be fussed over by a ten-year-old.” A look crossed his face that Obi-Wan might have called _dismay_ on anyone else. “I believe he has somehow gotten it into his head that I will perish if he is not constantly bringing me tea.”_ _ _ _

____Obi-Wan did not try to hide his smile. “How many cups have you had today?”_ _ _ _

____“More than I care to admit. He means well, and has done an excellent job under pressure, so I don’t have the heart to say anything when it makes him feel better.”_ _ _ _

____Obi-Wan thought of Anakin’s earnest face and the care that never failed to shine from his actions and didn’t think he would be able to say anything in Qui-Gon’s position, either._ _ _ _

____“And if _I_ wished to…fuss…a little?”_ _ _ _

____Qui-Gon huffed a small laugh. “No tea, I beg of you.”_ _ _ _

____Obi-Wan shook his head slightly. “I shall leave that to Anakin,” he promised. He studied his own hands carefully, clasped in his lap. The lines of his knuckles stretched tightly over bone._ _ _ _

____He thought that perhaps it was finally time to gather every last shred of his courage and fully discard the line that had stood between them for so long._ _ _ _

____He was no longer a Padawan. He had not been for quite some time._ _ _ _

____He forced himself to meet Qui-Gon’s eyes, because what he had to say next were words best spoken directly. He did not plan to start on this path, regardless of the outcome, with a veil of hesitancy. He meant to start as he wanted to continue. “What if I’d rather fuss as a…as a lover than as a Padawan?”_ _ _ _

____For a moment, Obi-Wan wondered if it was the light playing tricks or if the paleness of Qui-Gon’s face lifted just a little. With Qui-Gon’s next words, he felt certain it was the latter._ _ _ _

____“That would be more than acceptable,” he said into the stillness between them, and Obi-Wan felt the entire world open before him. “Though I might ask what it would entail.” Qui-Gon’s voice was grave, but there was a hint of something mischievous if you knew how to listen for it. “I’ve never been fussed over by a lover, you see.”_ _ _ _

____Obi-Wan breathed once, then twice, just to make sure his voice would come out as more than gravel. “I might hold you, for a start.”_ _ _ _

____“That sounds like an excellent beginning.” Qui-Gon lifted his arms, and Obi-Wan rose and moved towards him without another thought._ _ _ _

____It was an excellent beginning, indeed._ _ _ _


End file.
